"...for my house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples." Isaiah 56:7

"O Lord,...you have been pleased to bless this house of your servant, so that it will always remain. It is you, O Lord, who blessed it, and it will be blessed forever." 1 Chr 17: 26-27

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“From here in Ephesus, a city blessed by the presence of Mary Most Holy — who we know is loved and venerated also by Muslims - let us lift up to the Lord a special prayer for peace between peoples.” - Pope Benedict XVI, Papal Homily at "Mary's House" in Ephesus, Turkey, November 29, 2006

Tell me about Sr.Marie and this Foundation!

OK! Watch the RomeReports Film to your right. Then view our Foundation Filmjust below it for a glimpse into the inspiring and hopefilled Cause of Sr. Marie. (Reading material below DONATE button.)

Virtual Tour of Mary's House

Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal ~ Paris, France

Parents of Archbishop Giuseppe G. Bernardini, OFM, Cap.

Prayers for the Beatification of the Servants of God
Sergio Bernardini and Domenica Bedonni
EnglishSpanishRecall that Arch. Bernardini is the one to give the Imprimatur to the Prayer for Sister Marie's Beatification!

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Priests determine that they must have Panaghia and Sister Marie agreed and said, “Let’s buy it!”The purchase also would be put in her name. Father Poulin believed that the Lord placed Sister Marie in position to buy the site.

Sister Marie listened to the reports that agreed with the revelations of Sister Anne Catherine and her heart burst with excitement. Her prayers had been answered. She quickly and quietly wrote to Father Fiat, the Superior General of the Daughters of Charity, in Rome to request permission to purchase, with her own personal funds, the property on which Mary’s Home was located. In his letter dated 28 October 1891, he gave Sister Marie permission to buy Panaghia.
Father Fiat’s permission was a complete change of stance and fell in line with Father Poulin’s and Father Jung’s ideas, that this truly was the house of the Blessed Virgin Mary and John the Evangelist.
A little later the priests spoke to Sister Marie about the necessity to protect their work and procure ownership of the site. They deemed it absolutely necessary. Some said, “How good it would be if we had that.” Later, they said “We should have this!” Then they said “We must have this!”
The idea made its way into their spirits. But could they buy it? Father Poulin wrote that they couldn’t think about it with this enormous debt of 300-400 thousand francs and with a return of zero. Otherwise, Paris would never permit a similar acquisition. To whom would they turn? The answer was not long in coming to them.
Sister Marie couldn’t have agreed more. For years, she had been thinking about the Blessed Virgin’s grave, looked forward to its discovery and when she had been told about the opportunity to buy Panaghia, her heart was full of joy and she said, “Do . . . let’s buy it.” She knew very well that she would have the funds available to her to make the purchase.
“In whose name should it be?” they asked. “In the name of the Superior General, or the name of the Superior of Smyrna?”
“In my name,” she said firmly. She had the right to claim it and have active participation in the development of the site. They had no doubt that she would
somehow cover the costs.
Later, Father Poulin would write, “The Lord, who sees and organizes things, had taken care to put before us a soul in love with beauty and goodness, who was ready to give herself to everything good, a great soul, devoted, ardent, pious and generous; the noble Sister Marie de Mandat-Grancey. She was, God has chosen her to be, the terrestrial Providence, like Panaghia’s Mother! For twelve years she has been charged of this valiant religious enterprise; she has never failed.”
To have the good fortune to meet Sister Marie and to see the humility hidden under her noble pride, the shout of “in my name” does not come as a surprise. She should be permitted to feel great satisfaction to think she could give her family name to the blessed spot from where the Holy Virgin – and she had no doubt about this – was taken up to Heaven.
After a few years, she would demand and insist that a transfer be made to ensure as much as possible the future of Panaghia. So it was decided to be done in the name of Father Poulin, Superior of the Church of the Sacred Heart. After many difficulties, on May 11, 1910, the new title was obtained and was so well done that a last will of Father Poulin allowed his successor to recover the property that would be confiscated during World War I.
“It is well understood,” Father Poulin stated “that Sister Grancey remains Mistress and Superior of Panaghia as before the transfer, the said transfer having for its goal only to assure the property after her death and not to take it from her.”

Segment 17: Purchase of Panaghia wouldn’t be easy, and they didn’t know who owned it.

Mini Bio of Sr. Marie by Carl Schutle, C.M.

Sister Marie de Mandat-Grancey, Daughter of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, was born of a noble and holy family in the Diocese of Dijon, France on September 13, 1839. She desired from a young age to serve God with all her heart and answered her vocation. (Postulant, May 27, 1857, First Vows, September 27, 1862.) At the end of her second assignment in France she was inspired to find the House of Mary in Ephesus, Turkey. At that time Pope Leo XIII requested missionary assistance in Asia Minor. Sister Marie responded.

In 1886 she served as the French Naval Hospital in Smyrna, Turkey, and was appointed Superior in 1890. While in Smyrna she encouraged as expedition to find the House of Mary, Mother of Jesus, headed by Vincentian Priests. On July 29, 1891, Mary’s House, built by St. John the Apostle, was discovered. Archaeologists identified the ruins of a 1st century A.D. house with a Church from the 4th century A.D. having been built over it. On October 21, 1891, Sister Marie received permission from Fr. Fiat (Superior of the Vincentians) to purchase the property in her name which occurred on November 15, 1892. Sister Marie restored the House making it a place of pilgrimage for all people, especially Christians and Muslims. During restoration, three stones from the hearth, built by the Apostles, were found. One of these stones (cornerstone) was given to the de Mandat-Grancey Family Chapel in France to confirm her holy life, work, and devotion to God and the Blessed Virgin Mary, uniquely identifying Sister Marie with this primitive Apostolic community.

All of our recent Popes have visited the House: Pope Paul VI on July 26, 1967, Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass November 30, 1979, and Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Mass on November 29, 2006. Sister Marie lived a life of detachment, dedication, virtue, obedience, and charity; she died on May 31, 1915. Her Cause of Beatification was opened on January 21, 2011.

We encourage all promoters to download, print, copy and bind any articles, booklets, or leaflets found on our website –www.sistermarie.com- for non commercial distribution. Non English speaking promoters may have any article or leaflet faithfully translated into their local language for the purpose of advancing promotion for the opening of the cause for the beatification of Sister Marie.